SAN FRANCISCO — Dinh Tran’s path to ice skating stardom takes him past drug addicts, prostitutes and the homeless along the pungent streets of the Tenderloin.
The teenager pushes his Razor scooter or takes a Muni bus to get to the Yerba Buena recreational rink about 10 city blocks from his studio apartment. One day last week he was spotted on crowded 4th Street rolling a suitcase filled with skating clothes toward the rink.
“I just got off the bus,” he said.
In a sport known for glitzy wardrobes, polished maneuvers and high-end individualized coaching, Dinh, 16, is not the norm.
“It’s against all odds,” said Jessica Gaynor, Skating Club of San Francisco president.
Dinh Tran is one of 15 up-and-coming Bay Area skaters competing this week in the lower divisions at the U.S. figure skating championships in San Jose. Only the senior skaters are trying to advance to the 2018 Winter Games in Pyeongchang, South Korea.
Dinh is scheduled to skate Monday at Solar4America Ice and Wednesday at SAP Center in the fiercely competitive juniors that will preview the next generation of American men.
The Stuart Hall High School sophomore is not favored to win by any stretch of the imagination. But just reaching the national championships at this level is triumphant itself.
Mimi Hoang has reared her four boys in a tiny apartment in the crime-ridden Tenderloin neighborhood where she has lived for years. She and her youngest son sleep in a bed crammed into a large closet. Her oldest boys sleep in a bunk bed while Dinh uses a mattress on the floor of the living room.
for Ben Jalovick, per the Official Event Program for 2018 Nats. 
So cool about Jordan; he has such a smooth and artistic sensibility. And of course, you couldn't do much better than to apprentice with Rohene:agree:
